奧巴馬就債務上限談判發表演講

President Obama’s Sunday evening debt-ceiling speech

Good evening. There are still some very important votes to be taken by members of Congress, but I want to announce that the leaders of both parties, in both chambers, have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default — a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy。

晚上好。現在國會議員還有一些重要的票要投，但是我要宣佈參衆兩院的兩黨領導人已經達成削減赤字和避免債務違約的協議，債務違約將給美國經濟帶來災難性影響。

The first part of this agreement will cut about $1 trillion in spending over the next 10 years — cuts that both parties had agreed to early on in this process. The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was President — but at a level that still allows us to make job-creating investments in things like education and research. We also made sure that these cuts wouldn’t happen so abruptly that they’d be a drag on a fragile economy。

協議的第一部分要求在未來10年裏削減約1萬億美元的開支，而削減開支這項內容在投票表決的初期兩黨就已經一致同意。這將使美國的年度國內開支降至自艾森豪威爾總統以來的最低水平，但是在這個開支水平我們還能投資諸如教育和研究等領域來創造就業機會。我們保證不會過急削減開支以免拖累脆弱的經濟。

Now, I’ve said from the beginning that the ultimate solution to our deficit problem must be balanced. Despite what some Republicans have argued, I believe that we have to ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share by giving up tax breaks and special deductions. Despite what some in my own party have argued, I believe that we need to make some modest adjustments to programs like Medicare to ensure that they’re still around for future generations。

從一開始，我就已經說過我們赤字問題的最終解決方法必須是平衡的。不管一些共和黨人爭辯什麼，我相信，我們不得不要求最富裕的美國人和最大的企業放棄稅額優惠和特殊扣減，繳納公平的稅收份額。不管我所在黨派的一些成員爭辯什麼，我相信，我們需要對諸如醫療保健等項目做一些最適度的調整來確保未來世代都受益於此。

That’s why the second part of this agreement is so important. It establishes a bipartisan committee of Congress to report back by November with a proposal to further reduce the deficit, which will then be put before the entire Congress for an up or down vote. In this stage, everything will be on the table. To hold us all accountable for making these reforms, tough cuts that both parties would find objectionable would automatically go into effect if we don’t act. And over the next few months, I’ll continue to make a detailed case to these lawmakers about why I believe a balanced approach is necessary to finish the job。

這就是協議第二部分如此重要的原因。協議第二部分是要在國會建立一個兩黨聯立的委員會在今年11月前就“進一步削減赤字”提出建議。這個建議將在整個國會進行一同意或不同意的表決。在這個階段，一切都將進行公開討論。我們所有人對這些改革和艱難的削減赤字負責，如果我們不採取行動，兩黨將發現不利後果會自動生效。在接下來的幾個月裏，我將繼續向立法者說明我相信平衡方法的原因。

Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required — on entitlement reform and tax reform — right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year。

那麼現在這次談判是不是我喜歡的呢？不是。我相信我們本來可以使我們面臨的津貼改革和稅收改革選擇成爲必須的，但是現在要通過一項特殊的國會委員會程序。然而這種妥協的確爲我們需要的赤字減少政策提供了嚴肅的成立方式，並且使兩黨都抱着強烈的願望，要在今年年底前完成一個平衡的計劃。

Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America. It ensures also that we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months, or eight months, or 12 months. And it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy。

最重要的是，這份協議將使我們避免債務違約，並且結束華盛頓施加給美國其他地方的危機。它還將確保我們在接下來的6個月、或者8個月、甚至12個月裏不會再次面臨同類危機。它將撥開一直籠罩在我們經濟之上的債務和不確定性的迷霧。

Now, this process has been messy; it’s taken far too long. I’ve been concerned about the impact that it has had on business confidence and consumer confidence and the economy as a whole over the last month. Nevertheless, ultimately, the leaders of both parties have found their way toward compromise. And I want to thank them for that。

現在這個過程有點麻煩，花了太多太多的時間了，在過去的一個月裏，我一直在擔心其對企業信心和消費者信心乃至整個經濟的影響。雖然如此，但是最後兩黨領導人已經都做出了讓步。對此，我予以感謝。

Most of all, I want to thank the American people. It’s been your voices — your letters, your emails, your tweets, your phone calls — that have compelled Washington to act in the final days. And the American people’s voice is a very, very powerful thing。

最重要的是，我要感謝美國人民。這些都是你們的聲音——你們的信，你們的電郵，你們的推文，還有你們的電話，正是這些迫使華盛頓在這最後幾天裏採取行動。美國人民的聲音真的非常非常有力量。

We’re not done yet. I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days. It will allow us to avoid default. It will allow us to pay our bills. It will allow us to start reducing our deficit in a responsible way. And it will allow us to turn to the very important business of doing everything we can to create jobs, boost wages, and grow this economy faster than it’s currently growing。

然而，這並不意味着一切水到渠成了。我要敦促兩黨成員做正確的事，在接下來的幾天裏能夠用你的選票支持這個協議。它將使我們避免債務違約，它將讓我們把賬結清，它將允許我們以負責任的方式減少赤字，並且它將使我們盡一切努力創造就業機會、提高薪金，以比現在快的速度發展經濟。

That’s what the American people sent us here to do, and that’s what we should be devoting all of our time to accomplishing in the months ahead。

這正是美國人民讓我們在這兒做的事，這也是我們接下來幾個月裏要花所有精力做的事。

Thank you very much, everybody。

謝謝！